Echoing earlier predictions about the season that will start June 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday pointed to warm ocean waters and forecast up to 25 named storms, with up to 13 reaching hurricane strength and four to seven packing Category 3 or stronger winds.
Florida
St. Augustine/St. Johns County Win Nod for Museum of Black History; Getting It Built Is Next Challenge
A state task force assessing possible sites for a proposed Florida Museum of Black History voted 5-4 Tuesday in favor of St. Johns County, where Martin Luther King once rallied protests against segregation in the city of St. Augustine but where the site would require extensive development, including roadbuilding. The close vote followed intense lobbying by St. Augustine/St. Johns, which branched out to support from surrounding counties, including Flagler County, where Palm Coast and the School Board lent support.
Former Recruit Sues UF Over $14 Million Endorsement Deal Gone Sour
Saying his experience is “emblematic of the abuses running rampant in the world of big-time college football,” Jaden Rashada , a former high-school star quarterback on Tuesday filed a lawsuit accusing University of Florida football coach Billy Napier, a top Gators booster and others of wrongdoing related to a $13.85 million endorsement deal gone sour.
Federal Appeals Court Will Decide Whether Florida Ban on Strippers Younger Than 21 Is Constitutional
A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments June 6 in Jacksonville about whether a city ordinance barring dancers under 21 in adult establishments violates First Amendment rights.
Florida City Calls for Protection of Civilians in Gaza and Israel. DeSantis Calls It “Fraud.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday blasted a resolution passed by a local government last week in Miami-Dade County — the most populous county in Florida — that calls for supporting peace and security for “all innocent civilians in Israel, Gaza and Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Gov. DeSantis called it a “fraud.”
Ballot Proposal to Adjust Homestead Exempting to Inflation Would Hurt Renters, Businesses and Local Governments
Florida voters will get to decide in the November election whether to shield more of the value of their homes from property taxes under a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution, but the measure might mean higher taxes for renters, landlords, and other commercial property owners.
1st Three Months of 2024 Drew Record Number of Tourists to Florida
An estimated 40.6 million people traveled to Florida during the first three months of the year, a 1.2 percent increase from the same period in 2023. The state also issued revisions that increased totals for all of 2023.
Florida’s High School Athletes Could Soon Get Paid Through Endorsement Deals
The Florida High School Athletic Association held a discussion Tuesday about a potential change to the organization’s bylaws that would allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness under what is commonly known as an NIL policy. The 13-member board, which includes eight members appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in August, is slated to vote on the proposal during a June 4 meeting.
DeSantis Signs Bills Adding Judges and Revising “Live Local Act”
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed 11 bills, including a measure that will increase the number of circuit-court and county judges and a bill that will revise a major housing law, known as the “Live Local Act,” that passed in 2023.
Lawyers for Judge Rose Marie Preddy File for Final Judgment Against Scott DuPont’s Qualification to Run
Lawyers for Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy, who sits in Putnam County, have filed a motion for a final judgment against Scott DuPont’s qualification to run again for judgeship as he is attempting to do against Preddy in this year’s election. DuPont was booted off the bench in 2018 and suspended from practicing law in 2019 after he was found to have acted with egregious misconduct during his 2016 re-election run and on several occasions in court, as a sitting judge in Flagler County or Putnam Counties.